Tuesday, 1 February 2011

My family decided it was time to visit somewhere different for our beach break. We've done Koh Samet several times, Koh Samui, Phuket, Hua Hin etc etc. They all have their advantages but we plumped for somewhere new and Thai people rave about Chantaburi.

It was very quiet compared with all the above, but this is low season I guess. The beach we stayed on had black sand as opposed to the usual white. This is mainly due to the fact the beach belongs to crabs and black shelled hermit crabs which you can see everywhere along the beach. The black colour comes from their broken shells. Don't let that put you off, the sand, you shouldn't get nipped as the crabs are only babies and run away as you approach. The sand is OK for kids to play in and the water clean and warm. Best of all the beach was pretty much deserted and there were no annoying vendors or jetskis.

We visited Oasis Sea World to see the rare pink dolphins they keep there. There is a dolphin show a few times a day and you can book to swim with the dolphins. This place is pretty shabby though and I'm not sure how clean the water is. Make your own choices whether you should visit or not.

It is roughly a 4 hour drive from Bangkok depending on traffic, well worth a look for something different.